Synthesis and Analysis of Design Methods in Linear Repetitive, Iterative Learning and Model Predictive Control

Repetitive Control (RC) seeks to converge to zero tracking error of a feedback control system performing periodic command as time progresses, or to cancel the influence of a periodic disturbance as time progresses, by observing the error in the previous period. Iterative Learning Control (ILC) is similar, it aims to converge to zero tracking error of system repeatedly performing the same task, and also adjusting the command to the feedback controller each repetition based on the error in the previous repetition. Compared to the conventional feedback control design methods, RC and ILC improve the performance over repetitions, and both aiming at zero tracking error in the real world instead of in a mathematical model. Linear Model Predictive Control (LMPC) normally does not aim for zero tracking error following a desired trajectory, but aims to minimize a quadratic cost function to the prediction horizon, and then apply the first control action. Then repeat the process each time step. The usual quadratic cost is a trade-off function between tracking accuracy and control effort and hence is not asking for zero error. It is also not specialized to periodic command or periodic disturbance as RC is, but does require that one knows the future desired command up to the prediction horizon. The objective of this dissertation is to present various design schemes of improving the tracking performance in a control system based on ILC, RC and LMPC. The dissertation contains four major chapters. The first chapter studies the optimization of the design parameters, in particular as related to measurement noise, and the need of a cutoff filter when dealing with actuator limitations, robustness to model error. The results aim to guide the user in tuning the design parameters available when creating a repetitive control system. In the second chapter, we investigate how ILC laws can be converted for use in RC to improve performance. And robustification by adding control penalty in cost function is compared to use a frequency cutoff filter. The third chapter develops a method to create desired trajectories with a zero tracking interval without involving an unstable inverse solution. An easily implementable feedback version is created to optimize the same cost every time step from the current measured position. An ILC algorithm is also created to iteratively learn to give local zero error in the real world while using an imperfect model. This approach also gives a method to apply ILC to endpoint problem without specifying an arbitrary trajectory to follow to reach the endpoint. This creates a method for ILC to apply to such problems without asking for accurate tracking of a somewhat arbitrary trajectory to accomplish learning to reach the desired endpoint. The last chapter outlines a set of uses for a stable inverse in control applications, including Linear Model Predictive Control (LMPC), and LMPC applied to Repetitive Control (RC-LMPC), and a generalized form of a one-step ahead control. An important characteristic is that this approach has the property of converging to zero tracking error in a small number of time steps, which is finite time convergence instead of asymptotic convergence as time tends to infinity

Intelligent and High-Performance Behavior Design of Autonomous Systems via Learning, Optimization and Control

Nowadays, great societal demands have rapidly boosted the development of autonomous systems that densely interact with humans in many application domains, from manufacturing to transportation and from workplaces to daily lives. The shift from isolated working environments to human-dominated space requires autonomous systems to be empowered to handle not only environmental uncertainties such as external vibrations but also interaction uncertainties arising from human behavior which is in nature probabilistic, causal but not strictly rational, internally hierarchical and socially compliant.This dissertation is concerned with the design of intelligent and high-performance behavior of such autonomous systems, leveraging the strength from control, optimization, learning, and cognitive science. The work consists of two parts. In Part I, the problem of high-level hybrid human-machine behavior design is addressed. The goal is to achieve safe, efficient and human-like interaction with people. A framework based on the theory of mind, utility theories and imitation learning is proposed to efficiently represent and learn the complicated behavior of humans. Built upon that, machine behaviors at three different levels - the perceptual level, the reasoning level, and the action level - are designed via imitation learning, optimization, and online adaptation, allowing the system to interpret, reason and behave as human, particularly when a variety of uncertainties exist. Applications to autonomous driving are considered throughout Part I. Part II is concerned with the design of high-performance low-level individual machine behavior in the presence of model uncertainties and external disturbances. Advanced control laws based on adaptation, iterative learning and the internal structures of uncertainties/disturbances are developed to assure that the high-level interactive behaviors can be reliably executed. Applications on robot manipulators and high-precision motion systems are discussed in this part

Optimized state feedback regulation of 3DOF helicopter system via extremum seeking

In this paper, an optimized state feedback regulation of a 3 degree of freedom (DOF) helicopter is designed via extremum seeking (ES) technique. Multi-parameter ES is applied to optimize the tracking performance via tuning State Vector Feedback with Integration of the Control Error (SVFBICE). Discrete multivariable version of ES is developed to minimize a cost function that measures the performance of the controller. The cost function is a function of the error between the actual and desired axis positions. The controller parameters are updated online as the optimization takes place. This method significantly decreases the time in obtaining optimal controller parameters. Simulations were conducted for the online optimization under both fixed and varying operating conditions. The results demonstrate the usefulness of using ES for preserving the maximum attainable performance

Recent Advances in Robust Control

Robust control has been a topic of active research in the last three decades culminating in H_2/H_\infty and \mu design methods followed by research on parametric robustness, initially motivated by Kharitonov's theorem, the extension to non-linear time delay systems, and other more recent methods. The two volumes of Recent Advances in Robust Control give a selective overview of recent theoretical developments and present selected application examples. The volumes comprise 39 contributions covering various theoretical aspects as well as different application areas. The first volume covers selected problems in the theory of robust control and its application to robotic and electromechanical systems. The second volume is dedicated to special topics in robust control and problem specific solutions. Recent Advances in Robust Control will be a valuable reference for those interested in the recent theoretical advances and for researchers working in the broad field of robotics and mechatronics